17. Beaumarchais assisted in the commissioning of European officers for American service
By 1777, the number of officers from throughout Europe lobbying for service in the Continental Army was problematic. Europe had been at peace for nearly two decades. Officers from Prussia, France, Poland, Sweden, some of the German provinces, and even Austria presented themselves to the American emissaries in Paris. Nearly all of them bore hereditary titles, or so they claimed, and nearly all of them demanded high rank. A notable exception was the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette offered to serve with no rank, at his own expense. Beaumarchais was asked by the Americans to help screen some of the officers for service in America.
When Friedrich von Steuben presented himself to Vergennes, the latter sent him to Beaumarchais. Von Steuben had never been ranked higher than a captain, but Beaumarchais purchased for him the uniform of a major general of the Prussian Army. So dressed, von Steuben paraded himself around Paris. He was accompanied by a military aide and a secretary, both of whom were paid by Beaumarchais, who also bore the cost of their lodgings. When Franklin prepared a letter for Washington introducing von Steuben, it included a brief resume created by Beaumarchais. He also lent the faux general the funds to pay for his trip and cover his expenses in America. He was never repaid.